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Solution for roof vibration in crew cab

mrk5

mrk5

The Sticker Guy
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My crew cab has a bad vibration in the roof. The inner layer seems to bounce a lot and then vibrates or rattles against the outer layer. It gets damn annoying on rough roads. It has no headliner, which is how I plan to leave it.

Has anyone come up with a good solution for this?

A few ideas I've had.
  • Some sort of rigid flat strap fastened to the inside of the roof running front to back.
  • Just a screw or bolt threaded into the inner roof snug again the outer layer. (however I'm thinking the vibration might cause dings in the outer layer)
  • Spray foam between the layers.

Before I try one I thought I would see if anyone else had some luck with a solution.
 
I actually cut the roof sheetmetal (cab) apart from a K5, and was surprised to find a few strips of foam rubber GM had installed between the two sheets.

The distance between the two panels is quite a bit though (at least 1/4"?) so I find it hard to understand how the panels could move enough to even touch.

I have a very one-off problem though with my K5, and to make a long story short, the seam at the A pillar (pretty much where the drivers sun visor mounts) split, and the pieces rattle against each other. With no headliner, the problem is very easy to spot, as on the interior on that side the seam has a gap I can fit my pinky in, on the passenger side there is virtually no gap. The body is now shot IMO, which is one of the reasons I'm going to swap bodies, AND box the frame. I'm not dealing with this again. I realize it's a very one-off problem, but I'm not going to deal with it again. The rattle is VERY loud and annoying while driving. Oddly it's not 100% consistent.

I would think that at the sun visor locations plus the dome light location (if present) would give opportunity to get some foam rubber spacers stuffed in there, if that is the real problem.
 
If you do the foam make sure its in small amounts, very small amounts. Maybe get some foam and try to stuff it up in there in already existing holes.

Get a head liner :D:D:D:D
 
i got a cab from a guy that was repaired top dents from inside. had to pop a lot of holes in the inner panel . then thay spray foamed the middle with expanda foam .

not problem for me as i have a headliner for it.

i vote spray foam .
 
dyeager535 said:
I actually cut the roof sheetmetal (cab) apart from a K5, and was surprised to find a few strips of foam rubber GM had installed between the two sheets.

The distance between the two panels is quite a bit though (at least 1/4"?) so I find it hard to understand how the panels could move enough to even touch.
Click to expand...

It looks like the inner layer has been tweaked. Where the center is stamped with the embossed contour, it looks like that has pushed out of shape. I think that has the whole inner layer out of whack.
 
blazinzuk said:
If you do the foam make sure its in small amounts, very small amounts. Maybe get some foam and try to stuff it up in there in already existing holes.

Get a head liner :D:D:D:D
Click to expand...

Too many bad experiences with sagging head liners. :doah:
 
sweetk30 said:
i got a cab from a guy that was repaired top dents from inside. had to pop a lot of holes in the inner panel . then thay spray foamed the middle with expanda foam .

not problem for me as i have a headliner for it.

i vote spray foam .
Click to expand...

FAB454 said:
1st thought:small amount of low expansion foam.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm leaning towards. I wanted to make sure there isn't some unforeseen pitfall.
 
Spray foam might work, the foam rubber strips GM had installed were somehow attached (glued probably) to the panel, so no idea how long something would stay in place if you just jammed it in there. If the panels move enough to make noise, they probably move enough to allow something to wiggle its way out from where you need it.

I wonder if something like a can of spray bedliner would soften the surface enough to keep it from making so much noise?
 
Ultimately I'd like to cover the cab interior with bed liner and/or sound deadener. This is a short-term sanity need. :doah: :haha:
 
mrk5 said:
Ultimately I'd like to cover the cab interior with bed liner and/or sound deadener. This is a short-term sanity need. :doah: :haha:
Click to expand...

Just make sure you use waterproof foam. I know a couple guys who have done this and the foam trapped water and rusted everything out, in a couple of years.

Not sure of the right kind of foam
 
In other words something that isn't going to absorb moisture.
 
Go to home Depot and pick up the roof water barrier stuff that is aluminum backed. It's the poor mans sound deadner. It is asphalt based, just like the cheaper sound deadening matt. So the first time or two it warms up you might get a little smell if all the windows are up. They say after it gets hot a couple times you can't smell it anymore. And it made to get wet. I got some stuff off eBay that worked well too. From a place called..... Just a minute
 
That's the 50mil, it's pretty thin but cheap. I put a mix of it and some 80mil in my superduty and it helped quite a bit.
 
Spray foam is a quick and easy fix. But in a year you will have this rally annoying squeaking noise. Imagine finger nails on a caulk board.

The flex in the cab will pull one side of the foam loose. Then it rubbs.
 
That is a downside I was thinking could happen.

I was investigating the roof this evening and both the outer layer and inner layer are tweaked a little. They both have areas that seem to be popped in or out where they shouldn't be.

I did find a big open hole in the middle of the roof. From an antenna I assume. Need to cover that up. I wonder where the rain that lands in the hole has been draining to?
 
From my roof dissection, I assume it would travel down the a, b, and c-pillars (if present) perhaps potentially backing up along the outer edge. The roof panels appear to be "rounded" all the way to the exterior of the roof section, so water SHOULDN'T sit in the middle.

Any problems would probably happen due to junk getting in the hole (bugs, leaves, pine needles, etc), bunching up, and holding water.
 
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